To my own understanding this sci fi story in particular creates a more dramatic yet also manipulative story in which humanity in it’s expansion had a mass proportion of the human race labeled as “Terran” and hoarded in nature preserves as though they were wildlife or worse, cattle, yet it is this same way of life that humans are provided with care and an elongated lifespan through the consumption of their masters eggs at the cost of fattening up.
The T’lic are described as being intelligent grub-like creatures with multiple limbs having the ability to extend claws and communicate in human language, alongside extended lifespans plus the ability to use their tails as whips or stingers. It is these same strange alien creatures that have created a massive government outlawing some human functionalities such as vehicles and firearms in order to regulate humans to serve the purpose of being used as breeding host for new T’lic, this brands the host as an N’Tlic.
The main character Gan and his family are under the care of the high ranking official T’Gatoi and thus is guaranteed longevity and care for their servitude, the problem stems from Gan not realizing what his fate from birth is until the incident with Bram Lomas whereas he saw the hatching process first hand being similar to wasp putting their eggs in caterpillars. It’s so shocking to the point where Gan questions if he should shoot himself or allow the creature to lay eggs into his sister instead of ever thinking about shooting the T’Gatoi out of loyalty and compassion from her “care” which leads to him making the sacrifice of having eggs laid inside of him with the reassurance that the procedure won’t kill him because of T’Gatoi’s soft words of encouragement as it happens.Â
I liked how you gave a very detailed summary of the overall story before explaining how Gan was manipulated into allowing his body to be taken over by T’Gatoi’s eggs. It allowed for a great transition to answer the question thoroughly.